Amusement and exercising toy



March 6, 1962 B. L.. coPLlN ETAL AMUSEMENT AND EXERCISING Toy Fig. Z

FQ l

Filed Jan. l5, 1959 S R Ew/ N H WOPN CM Jn/m .DA l,

llnited States This invention relates to improvements in exercising typetoys of the type illustrated in U.S. Patent No. 2,803,461.

The above-mentioned patent discloses an exercising toy comprising a pairof rocker members which are notched for assembly in crossing relation,and a standing board supported on top of the rocker members by rubberpads or the like, such that the entire toy may be rocked in any desireddirection and the standing board may be tilted relative to the rockermembers to provide a toy giving considerable amusement to adults as wellas children. A toy as disclosed in said patent provides an interestingamusement device, as well as providing considerable exercise for a userof the toy. However, the crossed rocker members do not provide a uniformtilting movement of the toy in all directions; it is diicult to executea semirotating or gyrating movement with the toy, and the toy isexpensive to manufacture.

'Ihe present invention contemplates an improved exercising type toygenerally comprising a base member having its lower end portion roundedin form of a portion of a sphere, and including a standing plate orboard supported on the base member by elastic means, the present toy maybe tilted uniformly in any desired direction, and the user may partiallyroll the toy during use, as well as move the toy across a room or thelike by a combination of upward, downward and forward movements whilestanding on the toy. Also, the spherically-shaped base member lendsitself to economical and efficient manufacturing techniques.

A general object of this invention is to provide a toy which will givenot only amusement, but also exercise to the user thereof.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide an exercisingtype toy which may be tilted uniformly in any desired direction andpartially rolled while the user is standing on the toy.

Another object of this invention is to provide an exercising type toywhich may be economically manufactured and which will have a longservice life.

A further object of this invention is to provide an exercising type toywhich requires some skill to use and which is appealing to both adultsand children.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from thefollowing detailed description, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate our invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a toy constructed in accordance with thisinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view as taken along lines 2-2 of FIG.1, with the ball-shaped base member being shown in elevation.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of another toy constructed in accordancewith this invention, with approximately one quarter of the toy beingcut-away to illustrate details of construction.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of still another modified toyconstructed in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 5 is another modified toy constructed in accordance with thisinvention and illustrated in the same manner as the toy shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2,reference character 6 generally designates an exercising type toycomprising a base member 8 in the form of a ball which may beconstructed in any desired manner (such as being solid or hollow) andwhich may be constructed out of any desired material, such as wood or alight-weight metal. A standing plate 10 of wood or other suitablehigh-strength material is supported on top of the base 8 by a sheet orpad 12 of rubber or other suitable elastic material. The rubber pad 12is preferably disposed in a rounded indentation 14 in the plate 10 of asize to receive both the rubber pad 12 and the upper portion of the ball8. Also, the rubber pad 12 is preferably secured in the indentation 14and on the top of the ball S by a suitable adhesive 16, such that thevarious parts of the toy will remain assembled when the toy is movedfrom one location to another.

In operation of the toy 6, the user stands on the standing plate 10 andfirst attempts to balancehimself on the ball 8. In this connection itwill be observed that the standing plate 10 is circular in configurationand substantially at, with the outer diameter of the plate 10 beingsubstantially larger than the diameter of the ball 8. When the userstands on the plate 10, the ball 8 will tend to roll in any direction inwhich the weight of the user is shifted from the vertical center line ofthe ball 8. Also, the elastic member 12 will tend to flex as the weightof the user is shifted, such that considerable skill is required for theuser to remain on the standing plate 10. When a user has become skilled,it is possible to stand on the toy 6 and move from one end of a room tothe other by combining an upward and downward movement with a forwardmovement of the body of the user to skid the ball 8 along a floor or thelike.

The form of toy illustrated in FIG. 3 comprises a base, generallydesignated by reference character 18, and a standing plate 2t) supportedon the base 18 by an elastic ring 22 of rubber or the like. The base 18comprises a circular-shaped flat plate 24 and side walls 26 extendingdownwardly and inwardly `from around the outer periphery of the plate 24to provide a hollow base member having its lower end portion in the`form of a partial sphere. It will be understood by those skilled in theart that the plate 24 and the side walls 26 may be cast as an integralmember, or the plate and side walls may be formed separately and thensecured together in any suitable manner. The elastic ring 22 has anouter diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the basemember 18 and is therefore supported' on the outer peripheral portion ofthe top plate 24 of the base 18 to facilitate both a tilting andvertical movement of the standing plate 20 with respect to the base 18when a user stands on the plate 20. The elastic ring 22 may be securedto the base 18 and the standing plate 20 in any desired manner, suchthat the various parts of the toy will remain assembled when the toy ismoved from one location to another. It will be apparent that the toyshown in FIG. 3 will operate in substantially the same manner as the toy6 illustrated in FIGS. l and 2.

The form of toy illustrated in FIG. 4 is similar to the toy illustratedin FIG. 3 in utilizing the base member 18 and the standing plate 20.However, in the form of toy illustrated in FIG. 4 the standing plate 20is supported on the base member 18 by means of an elastic pad 28 ofrubber or the like which is preferably circular in configuration and hasa diameter substantially less than the diameter of the base member 18.It will thus be apparent that the standing plate 2li in the toy shown inFIG. 4 may be tilted with respect to the base member 18 with greaterease than in the form of toy illustrated in FIG. 3. The elastic pad 28may be secured to the top plate 24 3 of the base member 18 and to thelower face of the respective `standing plate 20 in any desired manner,such as by the use of an adhesive 16 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In the form of toy illustrated in FIG. 5 a base member, generallydesignated by reference character Sil, comprises a llat top plate 32 inthe form of a ring, and side Walls 34 extending downwardly and inwardlyfrom the outer periphery of the ring 32 to form a portion of a sphere.In this construction the ring 32 may be easily formed as an integralpart of the side wall-s 34 and facilitate the economy of construction ofthe toy. The standing plate 36 of the toy illustrated in FIG. 5 issupported on the ring 32 of the base member 30 by a plurality of helicalsprings 38 positioned in circumferentially spaced relation around thecircumference of the ring 32. The springs 3S provide elastic support ofthe standing plate 36 on the base member 30, and the springs 38 may beyanchored to` the top plate 32 yof the base member 3G and to the lowerface of the standing plate 36 in any desired manner. It will be apparentthat the toy illustrated in FIG. 5 will operate in substantially thesame manner as the toy illustrated in FIG. 3.

From the foregoing it will be 4apparent that the present inventionIprovides an improved exercising type toy which may be tilted uniformlyin any desired direction and which may be partially rolled or gyratedwhile the user is standing on the toy. The toy provides amusement aswell as exercise for the user, and the toy is attractive both to adultsand children. Finally, it will be apparent that a Jfoy constructed inaccordance with this invention may be economically manufactured and willhave a long service life.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts orelements as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in thedrawings, it being understood that changes may be made in theembodiments disclosed Without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as dened in the following claim.

We claim:

An exercising toy for use on a flat surface comprising a hollow basemember having a flat circular top plate and -a lower end portionsupporting said top plate and rounded in the form of a portion of spherefor uniform tilting movement of the base member on said ilat surface inany direction; a Hat circular standing plate of larger diameter -thansaid top plate; and elastic means supporting said standing plate on saidtop plate for tilting and vertical 2o lmovement of the standing platerelative to said base.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

